Such a device is known from European Patent 576 058 B1. The known device includes a filling carousel which revolves continuously and is charged directly by a bag shaping machine. The bag shaping machine processes film material from a roll to form a bag strand, then it cuts this bag strand into individual bags and transfers the individual bags to a synchronizing device which then transfers them to the continuously revolving filling carousel. Although it is mentioned in said publication that prefabricated bags from a magazine can also be used, the synchronizing device must be retained. The type and design of the synchronizing device is not described, but the description does indicate that evidently linearly movable arms are used. Nor does it describe how the bags are held on the filling carousel. The bags are opened by means of suction cups on the filling carousel and then are filled. Thereafter, the filled bags while still open are transferred to an intermediate wheel from which they subsequently go to a sealing device in the form of a sealing carousel. Although this publication cites the related art as indicating that efficiency is improved with the known device, the known device still has weaknesses, however. One of these weaknesses is the synchronizing device which fills the bags on the filling carousel. The second weakness is the intermediate wheel, which transports the open filled bag, the speed of this transport being limited to ensure that the contents of the bag, in particular when filled with fluid, do not overflow out of the bag.
A great variety of such bag filling machines are known in the related art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,280, for example, discloses a filling carousel for filling bags with granules. The bags are prefabricated and supplied in a bag magazine from which they are transferred in a linear movement to the filling carousel. In the filling carousel the bags are gripped by a clamping gripper on each of two opposing side seams; the clamping grippers can be moved in relation to one another to open the bag. This movement of the clamping grippers is relatively complicated to perform. Before closing the opening, which is done by sewing in this case, the bags are rotated, which in turn must be accomplished by a complex superimposed movement of the clamping grippers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,473 describes a bag filling device which uses a continuous conveyor that conveys the bags, which are clamped onto a continuous conveyor belt, through the different stations. In conveyance, the bag is clamped to only one of these side seams with the help of a clamping gripper. However, the clamped side seam is the forward side seam, which in turn has the disadvantage that both side walls of the bag are no longer available for opening and on the other hand the throughput of bags is greatly reduced because now the bags have their largest dimensions pointing in the direction of conveyance.